Sticks and Stones
by muggleborn.dragon.ryder
Summary: A collection of drabbles and one-shots focusing on Hiccup and Toothless' friendship during, after and before the first and second movies. Astrid and Stoick will play small parts, and this will be rated T to be safe.
1. War Cry

Chapter 1 - War Cry

Summary: Hiccup really needs to work on his war cry.

**A/N: Well, here I am with my newest story :D I should probably be working on Overachiever, but I AM DOING RESEARCH OKAY D: anyway, this is mostly just a story to pacify all the plot bunnies, and explore the depths of Hiccup and Toothless' friendship. I will be hopping around quite a bit in the timeline, as I'd like to do things concerning the first movie, the second movie, the television series and even the book series. This is going to be a mostly movie-verse fic, but you will find several book references in here. I'm so looking forward to the twelfth book! :D Anyway, this, as you might have guessed, is set in that time frame when Hiccup began befriending Toothless, like really befriending him. So it's set a bit after the Forbidden Friendship sequence.**

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><p>The Viking war cry was supposed to be terrifying. The Viking war cry was supposed to be chilling. The Viking war cry was supposed to send the enemy running for their mommies.<p>

Unfortunately, nobody had told Hiccup that yet.

Toothless really wasn't sure what to make of it. It's one thing if a heavily armed, muscled, scowling, full-grown, terrifying Viking man or woman launches him or herself at you while letting out that yell. It's quite another when a small, skinny boy of fourteen, who's about as non-threatening as a Viking can get runs into the cove in which you've been meeting him in secret in, and playfully tackles you while giving a soft, almost cute sound. Actually, let's be honest here: the noise Hiccup made was nothing short of adorable, and Toothless was pretty sure that Vikings didn't do adorable noises.

He twisted around in confusion, staring at the odd human on his back, cocking his head inquisitively. _What was that? _

Hiccup instantly understood, as he always did. "That, bud, is the Viking war cry." He tapped his chest with his fist proudly. "Designed to chill the blood and quicken the heartbeat."

Toothless snorted in disbelief, crumbling the rest of Hiccup's already meager confidence in his Viking-ly ways.

"Well, you know what, I'd like to see you do better!" The boy snapped.

_This is almost too easy, _Toothless replied before opening his mouth and letting out a truly heart-stopping, ear-splitting cacophony of roars, one right after another, so they all bounced off each other and echoed over the rocky canyon walls, surely reaching another island or two.

Hiccup's ears throbbed, and he rubbed at them ruefully. "Okay, yeah," he grumbled. "You win."


	2. Feelings

Chapter 2 - Feelings

Summary: Toothless is very good at reading Hiccup's emotions. But he's not exactly happy about them.

**A/N: Hi, guys :D well, this is the next chapter. Thank you for all the reviews! Just so you know, this is set right after Romantic Flight. **

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><p>Dragons weren't very good at reading human emotions, and they were especially bad at understanding them.<p>

But even dragons weren't immune to those little observations made in friendship, and Toothless was certainly no exception. He was intensely acute to Hiccup's desires, needs, and feelings at any given time. He could smell the hormones Hiccup gave off, as well, which made it even easier for him to tell what the boy was feeling.

He could smell it when Hiccup was afraid, or upset, or…ugh. He could smell it when Hiccup was _attracted_.

And to make matters worse, he was attracted to the very girl who had been threatening him just hours before! Toothless was, understandably, a little concerned about Hiccup's choice. He couldn't even begin to fathom why Hiccup would choose the blonde female. Was it because she was pretty? Her skin looked smooth. Didn't Viking boys tend to fall for the girls who could wield a weapon? Maybe her hair was shiny, or she smelled nice.

Whatever the reason, Toothless couldn't help feeling that his human was definitely out of this female's league. She had threatened him with an axe, and yet he still felt attracted to her? Toothless was in disbelief. He glanced over hopefully, wishing that the blonde female had left but knowing that she hadn't – even if he couldn't read her emotions, he could still smell her.

The female grabbed Hiccup by his collar, and Hiccup flinched like he was ready to get punched. Toothless growled, bowing low to the ground, ready for a fight. If she hurt his human…

And then, just as quickly, Toothless was covering his eyes with his tail, pressing his ears flat against his head to hopefully block out the disgusting sounds of lips on skin. Spare him those supposedly romantic kisses. His human had better not fall to something as weak and silly as love.

When the sounds finally ceased, and Toothless deemed it safe to look again, he carefully peeked out at them to see the human female darting away into the darkness, and Hiccup…

Toothless nearly groaned aloud.

Hiccup was standing there, exactly where the female had left him, and his cheeks were bright red. A dorky smile was tugging at his lips and Toothless rolled his eyes, whapping the boy on the back of the head with his tail. But he followed his human's gaze to the female. He would have to get to know her, he decided. And find out her exact intentions for his Hiccup.


	3. In Each Other

Chapter 3 - In Each Other

Summary: Toothless reflects on his tail and Hiccup's leg.

**A/N: Well, this is called 'In Each Other' because technically, even though they lost part of themselves, they found part of themselves in each other. Huh? Well, anyway, even if you don't approve, I'm sorry for being away so long. I intended to update again, but Unbreakable happened xD and I wanted to write on it again. And then Untold. Sorry. **

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><p>It always broke Toothless' heart.<p>

He hated hearing it, and did anything he could to make it better, not because he didn't understand or because it scared him, but because he did understand, understand all too well. It would start small, and it happened mostly in that first winter that they were friends, right after the battle with the Dragon Queen.

Hiccup would just be lying in bed, trying to find reasons to delay getting up because it was a cold morning, or trying to fall asleep even though they both wanted to go out for a night flight because they were both bored and couldn't sleep. Sometimes it would happen at the end of a long, hard day, when it was just the boy and the dragon, curled up against each other, not flying or playing around, but simply being with each other. It didn't matter to Toothless when it happened – it just mattered that when it happened, he found a way to soothe it, even if he couldn't stop it completely.

It would start small. Hiccup would give a tiny little moan of pain, and he would sit upright in bed, or suddenly push off Toothless, one hand going instantly to the tender stump that his leg had once been. And something inside of Toothless would twist, violently and painfully, not because he was scared for his human, but because he understood. Phantom pain was something the Night Fury could understand, after all. His own missing tail fin was proof of that.

And even though the fact that they had both lost a part of themselves had brought them closer than ever, there were still those nights when Hiccup would give that little moan, or where a spasm of pain would go through the dragon's broken tail. On those nights, Hiccup slipped off the bed and curled up on the floor with Toothless, because even if they couldn't medicate the physical pain, they could at least comfort each other inside. Because even though Hiccup no longer had his leg, even though Toothless no longer had his tail, even though they had lost a part of themselves that they would never get back…

They found a part of themselves, too.


	4. Hug

Chapter 4 - Hug

Summary: "It's a hug, Toothless. Now act like it."

**A/N: Sorry for being away so long xP Lost the inspiration and all that. I kind of have to be in the mood to write Hiccup/Toothless friendship stuff, you know? Their friendship, being the most beautiful part of the movie, is something I can't focus on without sobbing all over my keyboard. So I tend to focus on the less beautiful but no less appreciated parts, like Hiccup and Astrid or Hiccup and Stoick. Or you know what I love. Rivalry. Hiccup. Snotlout. Rivalry. It is like...omg. Holy cow. I love it. So you might see a chapter or two based off Thawfest in here, but not too many because this is still Hiccup/Toothless friendship centric.**

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><p>Humans had odd ways of showing affection.<p>

For Toothless, it was simple: you didn't. There was no room for affection in a dragon's life, especially when said dragon had to survive alone, with no one else to look out for him. Still, he understood the protocol if a dragon did something for him because they cared about his wellbeing. It was simple, really; he just returned the favor. If a dragon gave him fish, he barfed it back up for them to eat, too. If they taught him a new flying trick – rare, as he was the best flying dragon known to man – he taught them one, too.

He didn't always understand Hiccup's way of doing things – the boy had actually looked _insulted_ when he'd barfed up the fish, insulted and disgusted. Honestly. Toothless was trying to return the favor! He'd looked hungry. He was just being polite. And Hiccup had eaten it, after a little bit of coaxing, but still.

He understood everything about Hiccup – except this. This odd little thing he did, positively stupid by dragon standards, and if any of his Night Fury kin could see him now! The proud black creature, never afraid to show his teeth or bare his claws, settled up next to a human boy. A human boy who was not even strong enough to beat him in any of their wrestling matches. Yet here he was, cuddled up close to the boy's chest, listening to that heartbeat as Hiccup wrapped his skinny arms around his dragon's neck, his soft freckled cheek meeting Toothless' dry, black scales.

A purr started up in Toothless' throat, unstoppable and pretty much undeniable to anyone who heard the kitten-like behavior. He knew that he was a proud, isolated creature, his mystique being in that he was so unapproachable and ferocious, but he couldn't stop the sound. A strange kind of warmth filled him, settling in his chest, as Hiccup stroked and squeezed him like a mere pet. He should not have liked this. He should have been fighting Hiccup all the way.

He didn't understand all of the human ways to show affection – but that didn't mean he couldn't like them.


	5. Protect

Chapter 5 - Protect

Summary: Toothless will protect Hiccup forever.

**A/N: Ahhhh a slightly angsty one. I've been waiting a long time for this, as you might imagine xD well, as my readers on Hard Knocks will know, my 'G' 'V' and now my 'F' keys are being contrary, so I tried to write something short and sweet, to update something. I pretty much wasted the whole day making an AMV for a ship that I don't even ship xD well, I guess they're okay. Merricup, if you're wondering. Merricup is okay, but I don't really like shipping Merida with anyone because her freedom :D and even though that was just technically the setup for the rest of the movie, I still consider it a pretty important setup, so I really only ship her with Jack Frost and even then, I don't write them that often. I prefer the Big Four interacting as friends, not lovers. Anyway. Rambles.**

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><p>"Toothless…I'm okay…I'm okay…" He wasn't okay. Anyone could see that. He was gasping and panting, barely able to stand, and, as if that wasn't enough, the blood seeping through his tunic from his ribs confirmed any suspicions his dragon had had. His boy was not okay. His boy had been <em>hurt<em>.

"I'm okay, just let me up." It was an arduous effort, standing was, but somehow, the boy managed it, his legs shaking. He immediately collapsed onto the forest floor again, however, and Toothless could feel growls, not of impatience, but of displeasure, building up in his throat. He wanted to chase after those people who had hurt his human, those people with their snarls and cruel laughter when the blade had entered his human's side. The dragon wanted to find them and tear them limb from limb for what they had done to his human, kill them all as payment for the blood still leaking out of the boy's side.

But the bigger part of him knew his duty was here, beside his human. He couldn't fly them when the boy was in this state – the dragon was too afraid of jolting him if they flew too fast, and he knew he didn't have the patience to fly slower when the boy was in this condition. So he allowed his human, his Hiccup, to lean on him instead, and together they walked back to the village.

Toothless growled again, the sound never quite leaving his lipless mouth, as he was afraid of scaring or startling Hiccup with his musings. His human was so nonviolent, and he didn't think it a good idea for his human to know the gory goings-on in his head. His human had been hurt by those people, and those people deserved to burn, he thought furiously to himself.

But he held back his fire, just this once, because his human needed him more. His human needed him, and for his human, he would hold his fire for eternity. But he would still protect the boy to the ends of the earth, because as long as there was still a heart in his chest, his boy would always be protected, and always be loved. And whether that meant walking his boy back to the village, or fighting with him on the front line…well, he'd do either, and he'd do them without a second thought, because his human was _his human_.


	6. Sad

Chapter 6 - Sad

Summary: Hiccup is sad. Toothless is determined to figure out why.

**A/N: Well. This chapter title reflects my current mood. I'm not at my best, I guess. I thought maybe writing about my favorite characters in the universe would help some, and it did, though I made it longer than the average one shot. Please leave feedback. **

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><p>Sad.<p>

His human was sad, and Toothless couldn't understand why. His human was normally such a happy little thing – a little quieter and thoughtful than most of the other Vikings, maybe, but he was still happy just the same. But now he was sad, and Toothless needed to know why. He had never seen his human go so long without smiling before, even that first week after waking up during the battle with the Green Death, when he stumbled around trying to get used to his leg. The boy was curled up against the dragon's side, shaking a little, his woolly clothing damp against Toothless' scales as he attempted to warm up.

Why was he sad? His leg didn't appear to be paining him; he and his father had been getting along quite nicely as of late, which was a surprise to everyone, and the blond female whose company he enjoyed for reasons unknown to Toothless, had been thoroughly generous with her kisses lately, and that – rather stupid, in Toothless' opinion – form of affection always kept his human very happy. In fact, there really hadn't been much going on that day at all.

Well, Toothless couldn't wait around all day! He had to know what was causing his human so much grief. He made a small noise in the back of his throat, tilting his head curiously, as he always did when posing a question.

Hiccup gave a great sigh, sinking ever farther into the wonderful warmth of his dragon's dark scales. "It's nothing, Toothless, nothing."

But he looked _sad_, so Toothless began to nuzzle and lick the boy impatiently, pinning him with his paws so he couldn't get away.

"Agh! No! Tooth—Toothless! No! Useless—reptile! You know—this—doesn't—wash out!" But his attempts at getting away from the dragon were futile, and Toothless knew it, pressing on until he heard a snort of laughter as his reward, and allowed his human to squirm away. He looked down hopefully, feeling a rush of happiness at what he saw. Hiccup was smiling. His human was smiling again.

But this satisfaction lasted only a few moments, for his human quickly reached up and flicked him on the nose, which quite apart from stinging a lot, was also an insult to the Night Fury's pride. He growled threateningly from the result of the flick, coiling his tail around his human so the boy could no longer move, beginning to mercilessly attack him with his tongue again.

"Toothless!" The boy groaned pointedly, but suddenly this was worth whatever he got, because his human was laughing now, genuine shrieks of it pouring from his mouth as he attempted to fend the dragon off. The reptilian creature finally surrendered before immediately pouncing on him again, nuzzling the crown of his head, burying his nose in the thick auburn fluff and listening to that wonderful, pure sound pouring out of his human's mouth. He'd done that. He'd gotten his human to make that sound. He'd gotten his human to laugh again, after being sad.

He'd made his human happy again. He made himself a solemn promise that day that, no matter what, he would always be around to make his human happy.


	7. Cold

Chapter 7 - Cold

Summary: Dragons don't feel cold as acutely as humans. And yet, Toothless is.

**A/N: Well, this got really long and drawn-out, huh xD I INTENDED IT TO BE A CUTE DRaBBLE WITH LOtS OF SNOW AND iCE AND CUDDLES oKAY it just got reallyyyy out of hand xD xD xD **

**So. It's not a drabble. Nor is it full of snow or ice, not really, but there are cuddles galore! :3 Oh, this is set in the space of time between the Forbidden Friendship sequence and the Romantic Flight sequence. I could have just said it was in the timeline of the See You Tomorrow sequence and saved myself a ton of time xDD also that last line of this one-shot sounds vaguely sexual, huh? This isn't meant to be a Toothcup xD if you ship them, feel free to squint with this fic, but I'm not really a Toothcup writer. Know people who are, though, if anyone likes that ship. **

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><p>Vikings were an odd bunch.<p>

Well, this wasn't exactly the word Toothless would use to describe them; perhaps something more along the lines of _barbaric _or _murderous_ or_ savage_, but for the sake of the tiny toothpick human who kept intruding in his cove, he'd amended his statement; this boy didn't seem violent, certainly not at all like the Vikings in the village – Toothless snorted quietly at the mere thought of their ignorance.

But this particular Viking…he seemed almost…nice.

Of course, it was too soon to say. Much too soon, and you could never be too careful and Night Furies prized their freedom and solitude above all else and the instant the boy worked out the mechanics of the prosthetic tail, he'd be out of here like a Gronckle at a pile of rocks…but for now, he had to learn to live with the kid. He didn't have to like him, certainly not; and certainly, he didn't feel a kind of leaping sensation in his stomach whenever he spotted the thin figure entering the cove, and certainly, he didn't recognize this feeling as joy. Any self-respecting dragon knew better than to feel anything but hatred toward the human filth.

Speaking of which, here the human came now, and the Night Fury brightened a bit at the thought of food and flight and company—well, no, not company, certainly not company. Humans didn't make good company; the only good human was a dead human. He couldn't start liking this scrawny boy; parting with him on amiable terms was an act that would allow him a free conscience, but anything beyond that and he might as well just go and banish himself from dragon society to save the other creatures the trouble.

"H-hey, Toothless." Something appeared wrong with the human; he walked with bent spine, hunched shoulders, hugging himself, and when he spoke, he stuttered in a way he had not for a long time. Upon closer inspection, the Night Fury realized the boy was shivering, the thin frame actually shaking. Why he was quivering so? Previously, Toothless had believed that only the really old humans moved about like this, with quaking arms and trembling legs, but this boy was a mere _hatchling _and it appeared his muscles already ailed him. It couldn't be weakened muscles, he was far too little for that. Perhaps…was he afraid? Toothless had definitely seen people shake with terror before, usually whenever he faced them. But this boy had no reason to be afraid of him. They had spared each other's lives. This had gone beyond your ordinary dragon-Viking relationship, and the former was fairly certain that the human could see that.

So what was wrong with him?

The dragon rose from his spot in the damp grass, nosing anxiously at the boy, trying to receive an answer.

And, as he always did, the human understood, and stroked his head. "It's nothing, Toothless, no big deal – just a bit colder today, is all. Winter's d-definitely coming." The boy offered him a small smile, settling himself down upon the grass.

_Cold? _

Toothless gazed at the human beside him in confusion; it wasn't cold, not at all! Actually a rather pleasant temperature, all things considered; these past few days had been much too warm, as of late, and with nothing to do but bake in the sun, the dragon had felt the heat intensely. Now, the sun was hidden behind graying clouds, and every now and then a snowflake would come dancing down from the chilled sky and land upon the ground, but the weather seemed a bit too warm to bring on a full snowfall.

Toothless frowned at Hiccup in confusion; the human wasn't weak, no matter how many times the dragon had heard him refer to himself as such – and surely the boy wouldn't get fussed over a bit of a bite in the wind, would he?

"Oh," the boy comprehended him again, "Toothless, of course you can't feel it. You have _scales_. I…don't." He gestured to himself.

The dragon brushed the fur vest with his nose. _You have a fur coat. _

"It doesn't do much," admitted the small, pale boy. "This is all it takes to keep a normal Viking warm." The small smile on his face disappeared suddenly, morphing into a mournful expression. "I just get cold…a lot easier than they do."

The dragon narrowed his green eyes almost to slits; he knew very well how his human felt about those hairy buffoons in the village – the loneliness and longing rolled off him in waves so thick the Night Fury could taste the negative mixture in the cold air.

"It's okay," the boy caught sight of his expression, offering up a smile to take the place of the one that had just disappeared. "I gave up on being a proper Viking long ago. I've got you now."

_What? _

This human – this _desperate, defeated, depressed_ human who had spoken with him about the village time and again (_why don't they accept me, I don't understand it, Toothless why am I different_) – this human who would do anything for the acceptance or approval or admiration of another person had…him? No, this wasn't the ending he'd planned for their story! Not at all! Amiable terms, what didn't this boy understand about amiable terms? Amiable did not mean affectionate.

_Affection_ was what the human wanted from his idiot father or his bullying brute of a cousin; but Toothless? No. Toothless had already planned out everything; had made his peace with the thought that he might never fully understand the human before him, but wouldn't hate him, no, would never hate him, and if they ever met on the field of combat, well, who could blame a Night Fury for turning away in the hopes of more exciting prey?

And yet, strangely, the words did not fill the dragon with anger. He wanted to be angry. He would have liked to have risen to his four feet right there, raging and storming and letting the human know, in no uncertain terms, that sentimentality and stupidity often went hand-in-hand, and if there was one thing Night Furies could not condone, it was the mixture of the two.

But…

But he held the fire he did not wish to spew, the storm he did not wish to create, the rage he did not truly feel. Because the look in the human's eyes was something more, something bigger than his pride and contempt and hatred, something bigger than the village's ignorance.

And the dragon could _not deny this human_ the affection he craved.

So, tenderly, the Night Fury locked his injured tail around the boy's waist, pulling him closer until the boy's thin, bony back pressed against the firm black belly, and allowed them to remain this way for a minute or so. There was a moment of silence, and then the Viking hatchling released a small breath, and maybe it was of relief, because with the dragon holding him he could no longer feel the cold, or maybe it was because the Night Fury had stepped in and lifted the loneliness off his small shoulders, the burden he bore in silence.

They didn't fly. Neither expressed an interest in flight. Neither expressed an interest in swimming or fishing or speaking; neither expressed an interest in moving at all. They just lay there, silent and still, and when the human sighed next time, the dragon did, too – a small, relieved exhale.

Dragons could not feel cold as acutely as humans.

But on that day, in the space of hours or just a single moment – Toothless could never be sure which – the boy lay with him, and together they warmed something deeper than skin.


End file.
